In Dulci Jubilo Mike Oldfield

” In Dulci Jubilo ” is by Mike Oldfield ( Michael Gordon “Mike” Oldfield ), the English musician and composer. As a composer, Mike uses progressive rock, Classical, Folk, Electronic, Ambient and New-Age elements in many of his compositions.
Probably best known for the classic Tubular Bells album, which he recorded when just nineteen years of age, Grammy award-winning Mike Oldfield has taken his place in music history with one of the biggest selling Albums of all time.
” In Dulci Jubilo ” was composed by Mike Oldfield with credit given to Robert Lucas de Pearsall and Johann Sebastian Bach, the single was produced by Mike Oldfield.
The song was released on the 14th of November 1975 by record label Virgin ( Universal Music Group ) and taken from Mike’s UK number four album, Ommadawn, which was re-mastered and re-issued in June 2010 on the Mercury Records label.
Mike based the instrumental on the traditional Christmas carol ” In Dulci Jubilo ” translated into ” In Sweet Rejoicing “. The original was written using a mixture of both Latin and a medieval form of the German language; it is thought to originate sometime in the Middle Ages. Although there is no definite record of the actual origin, it is considered to have been written in 1328 by Heinrich Seuse, a German mystic.
Although the carol has been re-worked by many composers like J.M. Neale, who’s arrangement became ” Good Christian Men, Rejoice ” and Johann Sebastian Bach ( although this is disputed ), the composition used by Mike was based on Robert Lucas de Pearsall’s 1837 translation.
Earlier Mike had recorded a version the song as a B-side to his previous release called ” Don Alfonso “, the song wasn’t a success and failed to chart.
Undaunted by the lack of chart success for the instrumental B-side, Mike felt he could do a better version and so re-recorded ” In Dulci Jubilo ” in October 1975 at The Manor Studio, based in the village of Shipton-on-Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England. The recording studio was closed by EMI and became the home of the Marquess of Headfort.
Mike incorporated some of his original backing tracks which he had recorded in 1974 at his home studio, the Beacon. For the second, re-worked version of ” In Dulci Jubilo “, Mike enlisted the help of Leslie Penning and William Murray.
Leslie Penning specialised in playing the recorder and along with contributions to both the single and the album Ommadawn, Leslie had success in the late 1970s with ” The British Grenadiers “, a traditional folk song.
William Murray played the snare drum on the single, William previously played drums in Mellow Candle, an Irish progressive folk band who were active from 1965–1973.
While Mike enlisted two talented Folk musicians for the recorder, The kortholt ( a member of the woodwind family ) and snare drum. The rest of the instruments played were by Mike; these included guitars ( acoustic and electric ), piano and synthesiser, of which only about 100 were produced.
The accompanying music video was directed by Bruce Gowers; he found international recognition with the video for Queen’s ” Bohemian Rhapsody ” in 1975, since then Bruce has worked with many artists including, The Jacksons, Michael Jackson, Prince, Rod Stewart and Rock group Kiss.
The video is split into nine thumbnail frames, each frame showing Mike miming a variety of instruments used for the track. The video is featured on Elements – The Best of Mike Oldfield, still shown on television occasionally, it is one of the few original videos again shown today.
” In Dulci Jubilo ” was a commercial success for Mike ( second time around ). The song entered the UK Singles Chart on the 20th of December 1975 and reached a peak of number four. It spent four weeks in the Top Ten and a total of ten weeks on the UK chart.